Restrictions on short-term vacation rentals are becoming more common in municipalities across B.C. Bowen Island is a unique case, and it’s likely that restricting short-term rentals here won’t solve the housing problem, but certainly will limit tourist dollars and employment opportunities.
We sometimes hear the call on Bowen to ban short-term vacation rentals as well, the main reason being that there is a need for long-term rental housing. These two issues aren’t necessarily linked, however, because on Bowen Island the shape of rentals is a little different than in other municipalities like Vancouver.
There are whole houses here that owners use for their vacations, left empty part of the year.
There are also suites in houses that the owners want to keep available for family and friends to use when they visit. In many of these situations, the owners have never rented these units out long-term, and never intend to, as this would restrict their ability to use it themselves.
Banning short-term vacation rentals in these cases would leave these homes mostly empty, and would no longer serve the community by providing places to stay for visitors who spend their tourist dollars here.
Housing is indeed needed on Bowen for the valuable workers and citizens who make our economy and community run, but it’s affordable housing that’s required.
Many of the vacation rentals we see, if rented long-term, would not be affordable to those who need housing the most on Bowen. These second homes are often high-end and would rent for more than the average service worker can afford.
It’s true that there isn’t enough housing for summer employees for restaurants and other businesses, kept busy by the fair-weather tourists.
Having unstable long-term rentals where renters must agree to move off-island in the summer isn’t a viable solution. Instead, it further limits the summer employee pool when it’s needed the most.
Short-term vacation rentals and long-term rental housing are not mutually exclusive concepts. Banning the former won’t solve the latter here on Bowen Island. A ban would, however, make a sizeable negative impact on the economy.
Bowen Island Accommodations is proud to pay into B.C.’s coffers by charging the eight per cent hotel provincial sales tax plus five per cent GST.
A new agreement between B.C. and Airbnb will see all short-term rentals booked through Airbnb collecting the eight per cent provincial sales tax and an up-to-three per cent municipal and regional district tax.
We are pleased to learn that the revenue raised from the new tax agreement will be used to fund affordable housing projects in our province and hopefully help to address Bowen’s affordable housing dilemma.
Unlike other municipalities, we don’t have hotels here, and there is a high demand from tourists for places to stay, more so than is provided by conventional bed and breakfasts.
Many people want their own space or a large space to bring a whole family, and this can be provided by short-term vacation rental homes and suites.
Tourists are spending money on their rental, food, gas, culture, and experiences on Bowen Island, and are integral to our local economy.
Vacation rentals must stay well-maintained and aesthetically up-to-date, and local workers help us to this end.
In the past year Bowen Island Accommodations has spent $35,500 on housekeepers, $4,993 on gardeners and $31,970 on contractors and handymen.
The issue of affordable housing and people using short-term vacation renting as a means of income is a greater issue than just Bowen Island’s, but Bowen Island has its own context to consider as well.
Affordable housing projects and policies are needed, and solutions are out there, but banning short-term rentals here isn’t one of them.
A deeper look at the issues involved will show that the loss of short-term rentals will have unintended effects and that the real-time benefits to the community and economy are many.
Jan Stevens, Bowen Island Accommodations
